'Anansi' production to give back to theater founder

August 18, 2010|By Kathy Lauer-Williams, OF THE MORNING CALL

In West Africa, every child knows the folkloric tales of Anansi, the clever spider-man. The trickster character appears in numerous stories in which he tries to outsmart others and is sometimes himself outsmarted.

Dark Horse Theater, a Bethlehem-based children's theater company, will present an interactive adaptation of "Anansi!" based on several of the traditional tales at 11 a.m. Saturday in Bethlehem.

The company, which was founded by Lori Sivick and Rob Adams, has been performing plays for schools in Bethlehem for 15 years. In May, Adams, 41, suffered a torn aorta and was hospitalized. He is now recovering.

After visiting Adams in the hospital, Sivick decided to stage a public performance of "Anansi," which was the 2009-10 school show, at Pennsylvania Playhouse, Illicks Mill Road, as a fundraiser for Adams.

The 50-minute show includes five Anansi stories, including "Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock" and "Anansi and the Pot of Beans." Sivick and her daughters Aria, 13 and Amelia, 11, play Anansi and his jungle friends, including a bear, monkey and wolf. The show will include lots of audience participation and singalongs with African music.

Jon Szieska's book "The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stoopid Tales" gets a musical retelling by Pennsylvania Youth Theatre students Friday and Saturday at the Ice House in Bethlehem.

This wacky musical deconstructs some of the best known fairy tales with hilarious results. Besides the title story, loosely based on the story of the Gingerbread Man; the show also tells the slightly skewed stories of "Cinderumplestiltskin," "The Other Frog Prince" and "The Really Ugly Duckling."

Performances will be at 7 p.m. Friday and 1 and 4 p.m. Saturday. Tickets are $9 and available at the door or in advance at http://www.123pyt.org or 610-332-1400.

OVERNIGHT AT THE ZOO

As summer is coming too quickly to an end, take advantage of the still nice weather with an overnight camp Saturday and Sunday at the Lehigh Valley Zoo, 5150 Game Preserve Road, Schnecksville.

Parents and children ages 4 and older can bring their own tent to pitch on the zoo grounds or just throw down a sleeping bag in the zoo's Bison Auditorium.

Explore the zoo after the sun goes down. Discover the nighttime activities of nocturnal species such as the Canadian Lynx and the Mongoose Lemur. Activities include a guided zoo tour and nature hike, owl calling and animal encounters. Kids can even help feed the animals their morning hay. Snacks and breakfast is included.

The adventure will be 5:30 p.m. Saturday to 9 a.m. Sunday. The cost is $33 per person.